Woman walks past a bench painted in the colours of the U.S. flag outside a clothing store in BeijingMore

Hours earlier, President Trump announced on Twitter that he made a decision to delay - for two weeks - another round of tariffs increases on Chinese imports.

"China wants to claim the moral high ground before the October talks and to send a message of goodwill", sYao Xinchao, professor of global trade at the University of worldwide Business and Economics in Beijing, told the Washington Post.

The Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council said on Wednesday that 16 types of USA goods will avoid additional duties. They include shrimp, a cancer-fighting machine, industrial grease and assorted chemicals.

Both sides imposed fresh tit-for-tat tariffs on Sept 1.

Trump kicked off the trade war in June last year, demanding China to reduce massive trade deficit which last year climbed to over United States dollars 539 billion.

"The exemption could be seen as a gesture of sincerity towards the US ahead of negotiations in October but is probably more a means of supporting the economy", ING's Greater China economist Iris Pang wrote in a note.

Investors drew encouragement from China's decision to exempt some US products from a recent round of tariffs.

The data does not include recent and upcoming tariff increases on almost $300 billion in additional imports.

Chinese officials say the exemptions will take effect next Tuesday and be valid for one year.

President Trump, who has threatened to raise those tariffs to 30%, has long held that trade wars "are easy to win" but talks with Beijing have proved more complicated than he anticipated.

China retaliated by placing tariffs on $75 billion worth of United States imports.

In July, the USA exempted 110 Chinese-made products from tariffs.

"According to my understanding, Chinese firms have started to inquire about prices for USA agricultural goods".